Bumpers or crossmembers are fastened to a vehicle by way of crash boxes of this type. Here, the crash boxes serve to compensate for the energy which is input into the vehicle in the case of an impact, by said energy being converted for the great part into deformation energy during the deformation of the crash boxes.
For example, EP 0 705 994 A2, U.S. Pat. No. 6,258,465 B1, DE 198 09 112 A1 and FR 2 761 434 A1 have disclosed crash boxes of this type having a plurality of hollow chambers. The crash boxes in said documents have in each case four or more hollow chambers here. In comparison with a single-chamber profile, multiple chamber profiles of this type afford the advantage that a more homogeneous energy level occurs during the deformation with crease formation in the case of a crash, as a result of which the energy absorption structure takes place in the crash box without additional triggering.
Furthermore, JP 2011-57158 A has disclosed a crash box which has three hollow chambers. Here, an inner large hollow chamber is separated by means of a wall from two smaller outer hollow chambers. By way of this, the load is to be compensated for with a greater or earlier introduction of force in the case of a crash in the outer region, with the result that the longitudinal carrier of the motor vehicle, on which the crash box is arranged, is not overloaded and/or deformed. Here, furthermore, an excessive amount of load on the flange plate, by way of which the crash box is fastened to the longitudinal carrier, is also not to be input into the motor vehicle via the center wall there. The arrangement there of the hollow chambers in the crash boxes therefore serves to minimize an inhomogeneous introduction of load into the crash box in the crossmember longitudinal direction perpendicularly with respect to the vehicle direction.
It is, however, not possible by way of the crash boxes which are known from the prior art to compensate for an inhomogeneous introduction of load in the case of a crash if said introduction of load takes place on account of a height offset of the crossmember of the vehicle with respect to the load input. Here, the crossmember would namely rotate about its longitudinal axis perpendicularly with respect to the vehicle longitudinal axis.